U.S. Judge Orders Accused New York Bomber Detained Ahead Of Trial

A U.S. judge has ordered the Bangladeshi man accused of attempting a suicide bombing in New York to remain in federal custody while he awaits trial on charges that include supporting a foreign terrorist organization.

Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old supporter of the Islamic State militant group, appeared by video on December 13 for a brief hearing from his bed in Bellevue Hospital, where he was recovering from injuries he suffered when his homemade bomb ignited but failed to detonate on December 11.

Judge Katharine Parker told Ullah he had a right to an attorney and did not have to make any statements.

Three people suffered minor injuries when Ullah attempted to detonate a pipe bomb secured to his midsection in a pedestrian tunnel under the Port Authority Bus Terminal complex, where many commuters from New York’s suburbs arrive on buses and transfer to local subways.

“I did it for the Islamic State,” Ullah told police after the blast, according to papers filed by federal prosecutors.

Ullah, who has lived in the United States since 2011, began his self-radicalization in 2014 when he started viewing pro-IS videos online, prosecutors said.

He carried out his attack because he was angry over U.S. policies in the Middle East, they said.